Teichoic Acids

Lipoteichoic Acid Inhibits Interleukin-2 (IL-2) Function by Direct Binding to IL-2

“…Lipoteichoic acids (LTAs) represent a highly diverse class of sugar phosphate polymers (5,9). The LTA molecule is a polyanionic, amphipathic structure associated with the cell envelope of most gram-positive organisms and is composed of a single lipid side chain anchored to a ribitol or glycerol backbone (5,9).…”

“…The LTA molecule is a polyanionic, amphipathic structure associated with the cell envelope of most gram-positive organisms and is composed of a single lipid side chain anchored to a ribitol or glycerol backbone (5,9). Although immunogenic when administered in crude form or in conjunction with adjuvant, purified LTA by itself is not immunogenic (9,34). Exposed at the cell surface, LTA is believed to be involved in bacterial adhesion (4,16).…”

“…Exposed at the cell surface, LTA is believed to be involved in bacterial adhesion (4,16). LTA is also thought to function in the maintenance of enzyme activity for several membrane-associated enzymes by concentrating cations (especially Mg 2ϩ ) near the cell membrane (9). In addition, there have been several studies which discuss LTA's potential inhibitory effects on the immune response (2,12,21,27,30), as well as enhancing effects such as increased macrophage activation and secretion of a number of cytokines including interleukin-1␤ (IL-1␤), tumor necrosis factor alpha, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-12 (5,10,28).…”

Induction of Immunoglobulin Secretion in Cultured Human Lymphocytes by 4 Staphylococcus Aureus Strains and Their Extracts

“…Recent results indicate that peptidoglycan, the main cell-wall component of S . aureus, activates human lymphocytes to proliferation and immunoglobulin secretion (6)(7)(8).…”

“…Extracellular products of S. aureus have been shown to activate mouse lymphocytes to proliferation ( 5 , 9, I I , 15, 18, 23, 241, and protein A, a S. aureus cell wall component, is known to be a polyclonal activator of human B lymphocytes (1 0, 17,21,22). Recently attempts to analyze the capacity for lymphocyte activation of different S. aureus components have been made ( 6 , 7,8). The aim of this study was to characterize the activation of human lymphocytes induced by different strains of S. aweus and to investigate different methods for preparation of bacteria, in particular their watersoluble components.…”